Universal joint.



V. L. EMERSON.

UNIVERSAL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1c, 1913 1,085,855, Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

MM mmaa 10m? $226M UNITED T OFFICE.

VICTOR LEE EMERSON, OF ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, ASSIG-NOR TO ANNETTE E.

EMERSON, OF ALEXANDRIA,

VIRGINIA.

UNIVERSAL JOINT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VICTOR Lnn EMER- soN, a citizen of. the UnitedStates, residing at Alexandria, State of Virginia, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Universal following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of machine elements known asuniversal joints.

It has for an object the provision of a oint that is extremely simple Incompare son with those of the ordinary type and which is extremelystrong and compact and easy of manufacture.

Another object is to provide a joint that will retain a lubricant and inwhich the moving parts are substantially frictionless.

Another object is to provide'a joint in which the exterior is smooth andfree from projections.

A further object is to provide a joint in which longitudinal adjustmentis permitted between the connecting members Other advantages will appearas may be brought out in the following description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings in which like numerals indicatelike parts in each of the figures: Figure 1 is a longitudi- -nal sectiontaken on line YY on Fig. 2;

Fig. '2 is a section taken on line XX of Fig. 1, looking in thedirection of the arrow (1: Fig. 3 is a section taken on line XX of Fig.1, looking in the direction of arrow b.

In the said drawings'l represents a cylindrical body which in theembodiment shown is formed of a solid piece of metal and interiorlyfluted as shown. At one end of the said body a flanged head 2 isattached by means of bolts 3, which are screwed into threaded bores 4,located in the solid portions of the body 1, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.The other end of the body 1 is provided with a flared opening 5, asshown in Fig. 1. The body 1 is longitudinally bored as shown at 6. Inthe present instance four of these bores are shown, but their number maybe varied at will. The head 2 is centrally bored and has keyed therein ashaft 7, which is held against longitudinal movement by a nut 8.

Entering through the opening 5 1s a shaft 9. This shaft is provided witha ball shaped Specification of Letters Patent.

Joints, of which they Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

Application filed June 16, 1913. Serial No. 773,896.

head 10, which is of a diameter less than the central bore or opening 11in the body. This head carries a spindle 12, which is mountedtransversely to the shaft 9 as shown, Upon the ends of said spindle aremounted ball members 13, which are of a less diameter than the bores 6in the body 1. The ball members 13 are bored to receive the. ends of thespindle 12, and. are thereby permitted to have longitudinal motionrelative thereto. Only one spindle is herein shown, but there may be asmany as desired.

It will bev noted that as the shaft 9 is moved from the full lineposition to the dotted line position, as shown in Fig. 1 the ballmembers 13 slide upon the spindle 12, and thereby automaticallycompensate for the varyingdimensions caused by the structuralrelationship of the device. It will be noted that the shaft. 9, togetherwith the spindle 12 and ball members 13 are permitted to have alongitudinal adjustment within the limits of the bores 6. Thisadjustment has a great advantage in many uses of a. device of thischaracter, and especially when used in connection with the pro-' pellershaft of an automobile, as the varying compressions and expansions ofthe rear springs of the vehicle tend to cause the rear axle to have alongitudinal movement relative to the propeller shaft.

It will be noted that the contacting surfaces of my universal joint havea rolling motion, which reduces the wear and friction to a minimum. Theball shaped head 10 automatically centers shaft 9 and spindle 12, sothat the ball members 13 are free to perform their function. Thisautomatic centering occurs twice at each revolution of the joint whenthe head 10 comes in contact with the ball members 13. It Willbe notedthat the ball members 13 will prevent the head 10 from coming intocontact with the surfaces of the bore or opening 11. The contactingpoints-0f the driving and driven members of my joint are, therefore, thepivotal points of the ball membersyl3 with the bores 6.

The body 1 being of acircular one piece fluted construction is extremelystrong and compact and lends itself to ease of manufacture. The bodybeing imperforate throughout its circumference and closed at one end bythe head 2 and formed with an having a plurality of tably and slidablyopening of the character shown at 5, is capable of retaining alubricant, at all times,

7 which is a desirable feature.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a device of the class described, in combination, a rotatable body,said body bores parallel to the axis of rotation thereof and a centralopening intersecting said parallel bores, a rotatable member extendingfreely within said central opening and having a projecting memberthereon extending into a plurality of said parallel bores through theirintersection with said central opening, ball-shaped members rotatablyand slidably mounted on said projecting member, and having a rollincontact with said bores, said ballshape members and bores being soformed with respect to each other that said ballshaped members are heldin said bores and constrained at their pivotal points of contacttherewith to travel in lines parallel to the axis of rotation of saidbody, whereby said rotatable member has a rollin connection with saidbody and partakes oi: its rota- .tion at varying angles to the axis ofrotation thereof.

2. In a device of the class described, in combination, a rotatable body,said body having a plurality of pairs of oppositely disposed boresparallel to the axis of rotation thereof and symmetrically disposedaround said axis, and a central opening intersecting said parallelbores, a rotatable member extending freely within said central openingand adapted to partake of the rotation of said body at varying angles tothe axis of rotation thereof, said rotatable member having a projectingmember thereon extending into a selected pair of said parallel boresthrough their intersection with said central opening, ball-shapedmembers rotamounted on said protable member extending and partakes ofnosassa jecting member and having a rolling con- 1 tact with said bores,said ball-shaped members and bores being so formed with re spect to eachother that said ball-shaped members are held in said bores andconstrained at their pivotal points of contact therewith to travel inlines parallel to the axis of rotation of said body, whereby saidrotatable member has a rolling connection with said body.

3. In a device of the class described, in combination, a rotatable body,said body having a plurality of bores parallel to the axis of rotationthereof and a central opening intersecting said parallel bores, arotafreely within said central opening, a head on said rotatable memberhaving a projecting member extending into a plurality of said parallelbores through their intersection with said central opening, ball-shapedmembers rotatably and slidably mounted on said projecting member andhaving a rolling contact with said parallel bores, said ball-shapedmembers and bores being so formed with respect to each other that saidball-shaped members are held in said bores and constrained at theirpivotal points of contact therewith to travelin lines parallel to theaxis of rotation of said body, said head'and ball-shaped members beingso formed with respect to 'each other as to automatically center saidhead, whereby said rotatable member has a rolling connection with, saidbody the rotation thereof at va rying angles to the axis of rotation ofsaid body.

In testimony whereof I aflix my 'signaturi in presence of two witnesses.

VICTOR LEE EldERSON.

Witnesses:

RUTH H. PRETTYMAN, GLADYS M. Bnooxn.

